Valfaris: Mecha Therion

That was an exceptionally enjoyable game, even breathtaking at times, the trailer does not do the visuals justice, much better than just about any space shooter that I played. I was a little worried that the price would not match the experience, we don't exactly get large projects for this genre, but man, there was so much love and effort put into the game, the stages were so over the top the entire time, especially toward the end, and these boss fights, that mecha wolf puts the DarkSoul bosses to shame, so satisfying to finally kill him, top 5 boss fights for me in any game.
You could finish it in about 3 to 4 hours, that is with some practice and not including collecting everything. I played on normal and the game was relatively fair, lots of checkpoints so it's not too frustrating, not like Cube Gothic or Slain for that matter. To be fair, these arcade-like games are not meant to be long, and for the genre, it's still longer than similar games. There is some limited exploration, depending on the level you might be able to look for secrets and a few additional trinkets such as weapons and modules. At the checkpoints you can do various things like upgrading weapons and equipping modules for special effects, nothing too deep but the weapons had a good feel to them, at least the ranged weapons anyway.
I really feel like the stage design was the winner here, there are many nice elements to this game but just the perspective madness is unlike anything that I have seen before - technically I have, but most of the time when games do this it tends to suck. I think the best example and my favorite stage was the one with the laser walkers, just that depth that you feel moving around, also I really loved that effect when the giant ship would fly from the top of the screen, the entire game has so many cool stage elements, like playing inside a metal album cover. Something about the aesthetic here in general is so good, it's not like as old as PS1, but it still has that retro charm and just so much personality on top of it. The story naturally wasn't too deep, but I still think you did a good job teasing the boss fights.
The gameplay felt pretty good for the most part, I thought all of the ranged weapons were satisfying to use, although I found the range on the melee attacks a bit annoying and I think there is some space for improvement. I like that the boss fights had some additional mechanics, like clashing weapons and even doing a counter in a few fights. Also, I like that enemies were not super spongy, it seems if you play well you can beat any boss within a minute or less, I think the last one takes about 2 minutes or so if you doing good, and I think it gives a good satisfaction for weapons, not that artificial difficulty where everything has too much HP.
Pros:
(+) The stage design was just awesome, good variety between the stages to begin with, but also the perspective changes surprisingly worked really well, just so many cool camera angle moments, I can't say I have seen an indie game do it this well. In general, the aesthetic worked really well and I didn't feel like you reused the visuals too much, maybe a little toward the end.
(+) You can do some limited collection content, some stages allow you to do a bit of exploration, not too much though, just a few hidden items and such. The game has a nice achievement support though, and you can upgrade your weapons, in addition to equipping some active and passive bonuses.
(+) The combat felt pretty good with a few nitpicks, I like that weapons felt powerful and the bosses were not super tanky as they often tend to be. The addition of melee interactions with bosses was nice as well.
Feedback:
Melee Weapons - even though I found the charged boomerang effect very good for DPS between the weapon cooldown, in general, I felt like I was often discouraged to use melee during the stages, and they would become more useful during boss fights. I think it's the range, most games would give you a bit of cleave feel to the weapon so you not using melee right next to the enemy hitbox. I have not collected all modules so I assume you can improve the melee further, but I think the animation could do better if it was a little faster, with a bit more range.
It might be a good idea to let the player cancel out the dash sooner or make the range a bit shorter, it feels clunky when it overshoots just because you wanted to I-frames and you get stuck in corner or behind the boss.
On that note, I also felt the super attacks were a bit weak(those that I used anyway), like I would use a charge on big enemy and still had to hit it for like 4 seconds straight, so like, I think they should at least have enough damage for mid-level enemies cuz you don't get to spam them that often, they would not even kill those random houses shooting rockets, not without upgrades.
I did have one freeze at the last checkpoint at random, and some random lag mostly on the last stage during camera changes.The game did have some issues with the visual clutter, but on most of the stages I didn't mind it, I think the one with the bunkers felt more spammy than others.
Overall Thoughts: 9/10
I really don't think you could do much better for this genre, the visual experience was a highlight for sure, but just overall the game felt pretty good, I especially enjoyed the boss fights and the ranged weapons. At first I wasn't sure how you could justify that price rag, but I can see the reasoning now, it's pretty high-end for an indie I would say, seems like it took a long time to make.
Niche, obscure and underrated games:

This might be the best game I've tried in 2024 so far. I was a bit skeptical getting this as I don't usually care about flying shoot 'em ups, and also thought the mech sections in the first game were a bit clunky controls-wise. But this game kicks ass.
Highlights:
The store page doesn't do the art justice. The graphics are eye popping and psychedelic at times, and the heavy metal soundtrack in this one is even better than the first game
The controls are buttery smooth and responsive
Each level has its entirely own visual style, music, and enemy designs.
The environments are interactive and there are always unexpected things flying at you.
The difficulty ramps up high which is how I like it
Runs perfectly on Steam Deck (I've been playing offline hence my time played)
This is an easy recommend. I think this game deserves a lot more attention, it's fantastic.

Absolutely amazing. After torturing the developer on Twitter by asking him every week to release it, I am glad I can finally play. This is a brilliant game. Must play.

"Human pride and megalomania
Wrath had to come."
The hunt goes on! Shorter, smoother, and grittier, this is the most engaging Steel Mantis game to date. The epic metal score by Curt Victor Bryant is on par with the game's overall quality.
***
Mecha Therion is a streamlined heavy-metal experience—brutal, direct, a bit silly, but fun and rhythmic. Of all Steel Mantis games, this feels the most accomplished. Changing the genre from platform shooter to side-scrolling shoot 'em up and sticking to a concise couple of hours of the story made Valfaris even more entertaining. No bull*hit, no frustration. You boot it up, fly straight ahead in a mecha, and destroy any opposition.
Graphics are an acid bath of metal spikes and radioactive glow, with purple and orange tints making the most of the color palette. It looks badass, but sometimes projectiles are hard to spot in this otherworldly sunset kaleidoscope. Even though it makes the progression harder, I would say it is worth some tolerance because the game is visually pure awesomeness.
Ex-Celtic Frost bassist/guitarist Curt Victor Bryant wrote the score, as he did for all previous Steel Mantis games. It is one of his finest works. Of course, it is not To Mega Therion that Valfaris developers wittily paraphrased in the game's title, and not Monotheist, and it shouldn't be. It is a game soundtrack, after all. It does the job as a game accompaniment first and foremost. Bryant's deliberate, epic heavy metal drives the narrative. The composition continues upon death and rebirth, which is a nice feature; the only exception is boss fights because they must start from a specific musical point. Overall, music, graphics, and gameplay are neatly tied together and constitute a single art piece that is hard to imagine without any of its elements.
By the way, the word Valfaris is an homage to Terje "Valfar" Bakken, the deceased founder of the Norwegian folk/black metal band Windir. Good stuff.
Played on Steam Deck. Verdict for Deckers: Excellent.
Curator: Metal Shrike

Mecha is everything you expect from the sequel to the Valfaris. Outstanding OST, Amazing Artwork and most importantly, Great Gameplay. This is the best and most polished Retro/Action Game since the first Valfaris. Do yourself a favor and buy it.

Let me preface this by saying I've never played the original Valfaris and know pretty much nothing about it.
As an R-Type child I've been playing shmups for a long time. I'd previously checked out this game's demo during Next Fest and it was super promising.
I've only put an hour into it so far but what I've experienced is pretty solid, controls feel good, soundtrack is amazing and the bosses are designed in a fun and engaging way. The level design is pure, outrageous eye candy and really owns its style. I'm reminded of the level design of R-Type Delta, which is probably my #1 shmup of all time, so that's a good thing.
I like the idea of finding secret weapons and upgrades that I can then re-run the game with to try out a different feel, I'll probably end up playing this quite a bit.
I've heard some disgruntled murmurs from fans of the original game disliking their choice to go with a shmup, but honestly it's a good way to attract a new audience. I do happen to have a copy of Valfaris in my library and whereas before I hadn't really considered it, I'm now actually interested in giving the original game a shot.

Ive been a gamer for many years, have had just about every popular game system made. I played when polygons were new, nothing beats sprites for gaming experience. I cannot stand most AAA titles, they are not fun, cant stand the greedy microtransactions, and political agendas. I dont care about graphics so much anymore, I just want fun.
This game and first one are not the prettiest visual wise but the soundtrack really gets you into the game, fast game play, difficult but fair, and just really fun. I hope these types of games keep being made. AAA makers will probably buy out all of them, shelve the talent and push their crappy AAA games. Until that day comes please keep the indie games rolling.
To me it is the best time in gaming history, games are back to how all should be made. Great job!